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IRWIN W. SANDBERG, B.E.E., 1955, M.E.E., 1956, and D.E.E., 1958, Copyright 1980, American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1958--.
He has been concerned with analysis of military systems, particularly
radar systems, and with synthethis and analysis of active and time- Signaling Systems for Controlof
varying networks and linear array antennas. Member I.R.E., Eta Kappa Telephone Switching
Nu, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi.
DAVID SLEPIAN, University of Michigan, !941-43; M.A., 1947, and By C. BREEN and C. A. DAHLBOM
Ph.D., 1949, Harvard University; Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1950--. (Manuserip~ received May 17, 1960)
He has been engaged in mathematical research in communication theory,
switching theory and theory of noise, and has been mathematical con- Telephone signaling is basically a matter of transferring information be-
sultant on various Bell Laboratories proiects. In 1958 and 1959 he was tween machines, and between hurrahs and machines. The techniques de-
Visiting Mackay Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University veloped to accomplish this have evolved over the years in step with advances
of California at Berkeley. Member A.A.A.S., American Mathematical in the total telephone art. The history of this evolution is traced, s~arting
Society, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, I.R.E., Society for In- from the early simple manual switchboard days to the present Direct Dis-
dustrial and Applied Mathematics, U.R.S.I. Commission 6. lance Dialing era. The effect of the increasing sophistication in automatic
A. W. WARNER, B.A., 1940, University of Delaware; M.S., 1942, switching and transmission systems and their i~fluence on signaling prin-
University of Maryland; instructor in physics, Lehigh University, 1941- ciples are discussed. Emphasis is given to the signaling systems used be-
42; Western Electric Co., 1942-43; Bell Telephgne Laboratories, 1943--. tween central q~zes of the nationwide telephone networlc and ~he influence
Since joining the Bell System Mr. Warner has been continuously en- on such systems of the characteristics of switching systems and their in-
gaged in the development of high-frequency quartz crystal units. At formation requirements, the transmission media and ihe compatibility
present he is continuing the development of very stable crystal units problem. A review is made of the forms and characteristics of some of ~he
and other solid state devices making use of crystalline quartz. Senior intero~ce signaling systems presently in use. In addition, the problem
member I.R.E. of signaling between Bell System and overseas telephone systems is re-
viewed with reference to d~ering information requirements, signaling
FRANK A. ZUPA, B.S. hi E.E., 1922, Cooper Union; Western Electric techniques and new transmission media. Finally, some speculation is made
Co. Engineering Dept., 1918-25; Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1925--. on the future ~rends of telephone signaling systems.
He was engaged in evaluation testing of materials and switching ap-
paratus for about six years, and in design and development engineering I. INTRODUCTION
work on practically all types of telephone relays for more than 30 years.
During World War II he was in charge of the packaging design for pro- Telephony in the United States has now reached the point where
duction of the optical proximity fuse and in the evaluation testing of it is becoming commonplace for an increasing number of customers to
magnetic mine Mll. At present he is in charge of a group engaged in new directly dial their calls throughout the nation. By the end of 1959 more
switch and relay design developments. 1381
1382 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1383
than 15 million main telephones in the Bell Telephone Companies had signals were displayed on lamps associated with the switchboard cords
access to nationwide dialing, and eventually many more millions of and signals produced by the operator to advance the call to an in-
telephone users will be able to quickly and accurately communicate termediate operator or to complete it to the called customer tended
with each other in the same way. to be produced automaticaily. However, as long as manuai switchboard
To a large degree this modern "miracle" has been made possible not operation prevailed, one part of the call handling process remained rela-
only by the development of the common control switching system but tively unchanged the verbal transmission of the called number from
also by advances in the art of signaling. Just as the switching function customer to operator, and from operator to operator.
has sometimes been called the "giant brain", the signaling function With the advent of automatic or machine switching it became nee-
might indeed be thought of as a gigantic "nerve system" carrying sens- essary for people to communicate with machines, for machines to com-
ing and action impulses to and from the "brain" to every part of municate with other machines, and for machines to communicate with
the system, near and far. people. Machine simulation of many of the signals was accomplished
Today’s communication system, which lets millions of telephone users more or less readily since, in praetieaily all eases, the information items
throughout the nation get in touch with each other within seconds could be reduced to txvo-state signals. For example; either a line is
after dialing a number, has resulted from the effort of imaginative requesting service or it is not,; either it, is busy or it is not,; either it
telephone people working over the years to evolve new techniques to is being rung or it is not; either the telephone is removed from the
meet the ever grooving communication needs of our nation. The pres- switehhook or it is "on-hook", etc.
ent highly developed state of the art has been brought about by an The adequacy of two-state signaling systems for these functions was
orderly evolution- an evolution wherein communication needs, plans apparent from the start and has had an important bearing on the
and techniques, the one stimulating the other, have formed a con- subsequent evolution of signaling systems. However, the "addressing"
tinuously improving technology. Some appreciation of the place of the signals, that is, the signals needed for people to tell machines to whom
signaling art in the modern telephone system can be gained by re- they wish to be connected and for machines to communicate this in-
viewing this evolution. formation to other machines, have a much larger information content
than do the signals used for status or control purposes. Consequently,
II. HISTORICAL REVIEW the handling of the "address" function has produced some highly
teresting variations during the evolution of telephone signaling systems.
In the simple early telephone system, customers needing only to at- At the beginning, systems used for the automatic transmission of ad-
tract the attention of an operator at a switchboard cranked the famil- dressing information were based on the use of direct-current electrical
Jar hand magneto, and thereby immediately brought the signaling func- pulses, the number of which denoted each deeimai digit. Thus, a cus-
tion into play. In handling the call thereafter, many of the operator tomer’s telephone "address" could be designated by one or more dec-
functions involved the concept of signaling. Such functions as becom- imal digits and these, in the form of pulses, could be transmitted to,
ing aware of calls in various stages of completion, obtaining verbai and interpreted by, the switching machine. Of interest, is the fact that,
instructions as to the destination of the call, determining whether the in some of the earliest systems such pulses were hand-pulsed by the
called line is busy or idle, alerting the called station and reporting on calling party with a pushbutton, different pushbuttons being used for
the status of the call reduce to information signals of one form or an- transmitting sequential digits.
other either to or from the operator. As such, they were either aids A major advance in the art, occurred after the turn of the eentmT
to, or results of, the iudgment exercised in the operator’s handling of with the introduction of the dial, a device which .rotates back to
calls. stop from a position to which it is pulled, and, in so doing, automat-
Rather early hi the evolution of the telephone it became apparent ieaily generates a train of pulses corresponding to the value of the de-
that the judgment and efficiency of the operator could be helped by sired decimal digit. These pulsed digits directly positioned the switches.
improving the signals she was called upon to interpret and produce. The step-by-step switching system thus evolved from this method of
Thus, the "drop" gave way to the line lamp, recall and disconnect pulsing and the address information- from people to machines and
1384 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1385
machines to machines- was conveyed in all cases by pulsed decimal III. PRINCIPLES OF SIGNALING SYSTEMS
digits.
Panel and crossbar switching systems, which were introduced later, A telephone system, in simplest terms, consists of a net, work wherein
utilized switching mechanisms which did not directly respond to, or any customer’s telephone station can be used to signal, connect to
follmv, the calling subscriber pulses. These systems required auxiliary and talk with any other similar station in the network. Within the
pulse-receiving and pulse-sending arrangements, known as senders, which framework of this basic system function, modern telephone system de-
received digital information independently of the switch and then con.- sign is aimed at meeting numerous objectives -- automation, high-grade
trolled the position of the switch in a manner best, suited to that de- transmission, accuracy, speed, flexibility are some of the principal ones,
vice and to the system. The use of these auxiliary signaling arrange- not forgetting the all-important obiective of engineering economy. The
merits permitted alternative actions by the machine in controlling the signaling philosophy has evolved during the process of integrating the
switches. The introduction of such arrangements in panel, and later signaling function with the basic system function, while observing all
crossbar, systems also had the effect of permitting information storage of the subordinate system objectives.
Modern signaling systems are closely related to common control
and signal regeneration in the switching office, thereby opening up pos-
switching systems. From the viewpoint of the signaling engineer, the
sibilities for new interoffice "languages" for transmitting the address
information. Thus were born the signaling systems which we now know common control system appears as a machine receiving external stimuli
in the form of instructions and other controls, following which it per-
as revertive, panel call indicator (PCI) and multifrequeney. To more
effectively utilize the speed capabilities of the sender-type devices, these forms its required switching operations and generates additional infor-
mation or instructions. Some of the information generated is returned
signaling systems employed multistate signaling techniques.
The transformation to machine or dial central office operation oc- to the source and some, together with original information, is trans-
mitted to an external destination. It is the function of a signaling sys-
curred first in local exchange areas, and, since distances were relatively
tern to accept source information, convert it to appropriate signals for
short, DC signal transmission was adequate for the signaling languages
transmission over telephone lines or trunks, and deliver it to its des-
used by step-by-step, revertive and PCI systems. The later expansion
of machine operation to longer distances, and the handling of toll traf- tination.
The signaling function begins with the acceptance of input informa-
fic, accented the need for accuracy and speed, and also for signaling
arrangements adaptable to nOn-De paths. Out of this grew the exten- tion from a source, followed by processes of encoding, signal generation,
signal transmission, signal detection, decoding and delivery of informa-
sive use of multifrequeney pulsing for the transmission of digital switch-
tion to a destination. While these processes may be combined in vary-
ing instructions. Also appearing on the scene were single-frequency sig-
ing degrees in different signaling systems, they are nevertheless pres-
naling systems, for transmitting trunk control and status information,
ent in all.
and for transmitting dial pulses where required by the older switching The source and destination of the information transmitted or received
systems. Sh~gle-frequeney and multifrequeney systems have become the
predominant standard for modern exchange and toll applications where by any particular signaling link might be, respectively, a customer’s
transmission of switching and supervisory information is required over station ’and a central office, or the reverse. Or both the source and
destination might be central offices. In general, an extremity of a sig-
Ac paths. In fact, transmission of digital switching information by multi-
haling system is required to act as both source and destination with
frequency pulses not only is used over ac paths but also has become
respect to the complementary functions at, the other extremity.
the preferred method of signaling over all paths in toll and exchange
switching systems. The relationship of the signMing system to the transmission media
constitutes another important factor in the signaling philosophy. Since
These, then, are some of the principal events highlighting the his-
the transmission facilities in a telephone system are primarily inte~ded
tory of signaling in the telephone system. Those close to the art will
to permit customers to talk to each other, the signaling engineer has
recognize that much has been left unsaid. We shall forego further de-
tail at this point, however, in favor of an examination of the philos- the choice of signaling over those facilities within the voice-frequency
band or, alternatively, signaling outside of the voice band. If the former
ophy and principles underlying the evolution of the signaling art.
1386 THE BELL SYSTEM TECItNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1387
choice is elected, one has the satisfaction of feeling that signaling can tions, have been standardized for all central office switching systems.
be accomplished if talking is possible, but is faced with the problem Confined to operation over DC loops, except for special cases, these
of signal mutilation and signal imitation due to noise or voice-gen- systems employ two-state DC (off-hook, on-hook) signals, rugged PC dial
crated signals. If the out-of-band technique is adopted, the signaling pulse generators and simple Ac-operated bells. Party identification and
engineer is faced with not only the problem of economically justifying selective signaling for multiparty lines represent signal variations unique
additional signaling channels but also the problem of coordinating voice to this class of signaling system.
and signal channels. It will, of course, be realized that, in defining the scope of the cus-
In some cases there is little left to choice, and this aspect is accepted tomer-to-eentral-office signaling systems as above, a great, deal has been
as part of the signaling philosophy. For example, the transmission plant left unsaid concerning the technical problems and solutions involved
involved in the interconnection of switching offices might be so rigidly in obtaining maximum accuracy and range for the customer signaling
designed and installed that in-band signaling would be the only eco- devices, while at the same time maintaining low cost. It, is interest-
nomic choice. On the other hand, the choice of out-of-band signaling ing to note in passing that the long-term standing of the customer’s
might be patently simple, such as in the case of PC signaling over wire rotary dial and bell eombination is being probed by pushbutton dials
conductors. and tone ringer explorations. We shall confine the remaining discussion
For the most part, the prevailing Bell System philosophy is to era- of signaling in this paper to the systems used to communicate between
ploy in-band signaling over nonmetallic facilities and out-of-band (PC) central offices, particularly those of the common control type.
signaling over metallic paths. There are departures from this, and these, From the foregoing, the essential elements of the signaling philosophy
along with other factors influencing the application of the over-alt sig- may be summarized as follows:
haling philosophy, will be discussed later. i. Signaling system objectives are integrated with the prime telephone
In contemplating telephone signaling systems, it is convenient to make system technical and economic objectives.
a distinction between the systems employed to signa! between the cus- ii. Signaling system requirements are strongly influenced by, and co-
tomer and the central office and those used to signal between cen- ordinated with, switching and transmission system techniques and re-
tral offices. This distinction is not always appropriate where step-by- quirements.
step switching is concerned. However, with modern common control iii. A large degree of mutual independence is maintained between
central office switching systems, segregation into these two classifica- signaling systems used between customers and central offices and those
tions is quite valid, since the central office usually acts as ~ buffer used between central offices.
between customer stations. In the development of modern signaling sys- In the development of this philosophy a number of principles have
tems, it has been desirable also to make this distinction between cus- emerged. They will be staged without discussion below, but the reader
tomer-to-central-office systems and central-office-to-central-office sys- will wish to bear them in mind during the remainder of the discussions
terns in order that an optimum choice of signal encoding, generating and descriptions appearing in this paper.
and decoding arrangements could be made for each category. 1. It, is desirable to consider a signaling system as a conveyer of in-
The characteristics of customer-to-central-office systems are influenced formation, separating out, and locating the basic information generators
by a somewhat different environment than that of interoffice systems. and receivers in other parts of the telephone system to which the sig-
For example, conditions m~der which signal transmission must be naling system is connected. This permits¯flexible and interchangeable
complished differ, and fewer information requirements exist in the cus- use of signaling systems with various switching systems.
tomer-to-central-office environment. In addition, the need for simple 2. It, is not necessary nor desirable to "package" all of the required
signaling transducers (dials, pushbuttons, bells, etc.) at the customer interoffice signaling functions in one system. On the contrary, separa-
terminals results in a considerably different approach toward customer tion of functions in such a way that some are associated with the switch-
signaling systems than toward interoffice systems. ing system and others associated with an interofSee signaling "link"
As a result, customer-to-central office telephone signaling systems have often permits economies, promotes flexible application of the signalit~g
tended toward relatively simple arrangements which, with minor varia- link, and permits adaptation to different signaling "languages."
1388 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JO~JRNAL, NOVEMBER ]900 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1389
3. It is desirable to employ the concept of individual signaling links mission systems have in some instances emphasized certain of the prin-
between switching points, with signal interception and repetition occur- ciples and in other cases have limited their application. It is interesting
ring at the switch point. In contrast to end-to-end signaling over built- to observe that the traditional distinction between "exchange" and
up connections, the use of individual signal links allows information "toll" signaling has probably resulted from varying and changing em-
to be modified or inserted at, switch points, and permits the use of phasis given to some of the factors next discussed. Parenthetically, it
different, signaling "languages" between switetling offices in a built-up will be noted that this distinction is beginning ~o disappear, as direct
connection. The signal transmission problem is also minimized. distance dialing (DDD) mad carrier-type transmission systems become
4. Signaling links which are alike or symmetrical at, each terminal more prevalent.
are desirable in order to permit reversible use on two-way circuits. Section V of this paper contains descriptions of modern signaling
5. The use of simple two-state signaling to accomplish the control systems as they are employed in the Bell System. The following dis-
and supervisory signaling functions is desirable where possible to sim- cussion is intended to bridge the gap between the philosophical con-
plify the signaling system and improve its operating margins. cepts discussed up to this point and the practical embodiments of sig-
6. "Full duplex" or completely independent two-way handling of naling systems.
trunk control and status signals between offices is desirable for sim-
plicity, speed and accuracy. ~.2 Information Requirements
7. The use of self-checking or error-detecting codes for the transmis- Signals destined for customers at the ends of a telephone connection
sion of multibit information, such as the address, has proved desirable generally are conveyed in the form of audible tones- for example,
from technical and economical standpoints. dial tone, busy tone and ringing tones. These tones also provide in-
8. In-band signaling is desirable where application to voice channels formation to operators. All other signals are of the type requiring
is possible. SpeeiM eases of out-of-band signaling, such as nc trans- machine recognition or response, and these are primarily of interest, in
mission of trunk control and status signals over available lnetallic considering the effect of information requirements on signaling systems.
eilities are difficult to improve upon, however. New carrier systeln tech- The general nature of this type of information is as follows:
niques, now under development, may influence this picture. (a) information to control the seizure, holding or release nf an inter-
office trunk and the far-end equipment;
IV. FACTORS INFLUENCING APPLICATION OF SIGNALING PRINCIPLES (b) information to indicate to the originating end the status of equip-
ment at the distant circuit terminal;
4.1 General (c) information describing the telephone number or telephone address
of the called customer.
The function of a signaling system, as noted previously, is to ac-
cept source information, convert it to appropriate signals for transmis- 4.2.1 Control
¯ sion over telephone lines or trunks and deliver it to its destination.
The coordination of this function in a reliable and economical manner Trunk control information may be manifested (or registered) by var-
with switching and transmission system parameters constitutes the sig- ious electrical conditions in a telephone system. For example, the in-
naling problem. Criteria to be observed in the solution of the problem formation may be registered by the position of a telephone switchhook,
include speed, accuracy, efficient use of frequency spectrum, provision an operated key, a plug inserted in a jack or an operated relay in some
of adequate signal sensitivity and resistance to signal imitation and mu- part of a switching train (or by a memory cell in electronic systems).
tilation in the presence of noise and other transmission impairments. In common control systems, the control registration also exists during
The signaling principles outlined in the previous section have been the addressing period in the device known as a sender.
evolved in the course of developing solutions to the signaling problem The nature of the trunk control information is such as to be readily
for various switching and transmission systems as they were conceived conveyed by a two-state signaling system, and Bell System signaling
for the Bell System. Characteristics of particular switching and trans- arrangements are designed to handle the function in this manner. Fur-
1390 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960
SIGNALING SYSTEMS ]~091
ther, the control information is capable of being transmitted continu- in order that the transmission from the originating to the terminating
ously following this line of reasoning: let seizure be denoted by a change sender can be coordinated, status signals are returned from the ter-
of state; then hold is a continuance of the state of seizure, with release minating end to provide for "delay dial," "start dial," "stop dial"
a change of state in the opposite direction and idle a continuance of and "go." These status signals are also two-state in nature, at times
the state of release. This method may be contrasted with "spurt" sig- being originated in the distant trm~k relay equipment and at. other
naling~ wherein a change of state is indicated by a uniquely encoded times in the distant sender itself.
signal of short duration for each state indicated. For simplicity and From the above it will be seen that the information source for both
reliability, most Bell System signaling arrangements have employed the control and status signals occurs in various parts of a telephone sys-
"continuous signaling" mode of operation, although, as shown later, tern. The design of telephone switching systems is such that control
continuous signaling is not applicable to transmission systems where and status information is usually registered or repeated in trunk equip-
trunk-to-channel concentrations are achieved through speech-interpo- ments associated with each end of an interoffice circuit. The signal
lating arrangements. function is usually combined with the functions performed by these
trunk equipments if a derived interoffice signal link is not required.
4.2.2 Status This is illustrated by interoffice exchange trunks and loll-connecting
trunks operating over nc trunk facilities. If, however, the transmission
One purpose of status information is to indicate whether the called path requires derivation of a signaling link [such as composited (CX)
customer has answered or not. It is necessary to transmit this infor- or single-frequency (SF) links to be described later], it is not essential
mation to the originating end of a connection in order to indicate, to combine the trunk or other information registers with the signaling
for charging purposes, the start and end of the conversation time. The link; in fact, it is usually better to separate the signaling link sys-
source of .the information is the called customer’s switchhook either tem so that it can be flexibly adapted to the trunk circuits of various
the telephone is off-hook or on-hook (similar information is also gen- switching systems.
erated by the plug-in-jack response of a PBX operator answering a
central office call).
4.2.3 Address
As in the case of the control signals, status information indicating
the answer condition can be readily conveyed by a two-state signaling Let us turn now to the address function. The prime source of this
system, and signaling systems in the Bell System are designed accord- information is the originating customer’s dial. In nonsenderized step-
ingly. However, in order to convey by two-state systems additional in- by-step systems this source is usually repeated by a relay before being
formation relative to the status of the called customer’s line, such as presented to the interoffice trunk conductors. Since the address gen-
line or path busy, distinctive signals denoting these conditions are trans- erated by the dial consists of two-state signals, these can be conveyed
. mitred by coding the on-off intervals. It is in~eresting to observe in through later stages of the switching system by any two-state signaling
this connection that existing toll signaling systems have been designed system.
so that busy information is conveyed by changes of state in the sig- In common control or senderized systems the address information
naling system. This is done in order to flash an originating operator’s generated by the originating customer’s dial is registered on relays in
supervisory lamp. However, ~vith the trend toward DDD and away the sender, and this constitutes the information source for subsequent
from operator-handled traffic, this requirement is being relaxed in new signaling. It is possible to re~ransmit this source information in vat-
systems since such information can be satisfactorily conveyed to cus- ious ways, such as by dial pulsing, revertive, multifrequeney or other
tomers by audible tones on direct-dialed toll calls just as it is on direct- techniques, (concerning which more will be said later). With the ex-
dialed exchange calls. ception of dial pulsing, these read-out methods involve conversion to
With common-control-type equipment at the terminating end of trunk multistate signals. Thus, the effect of these arrangements is to require
circuits, additional status information is required to indicate the avail- that ensuing signaling paths be capable of transmitth~g signals that are
ability of the "sender" and its readiness to accept pulsing. In this case, multistate in character.
SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1393
1392 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL 3OURNAL, NOVEMBER ]960
The introduction of dial switching systems into a manual telephone 4.~.~ Multifrequcncy
exchange network required that some method be provided to permit Multifrequency signaling is the most recent Bell System addressing
a machine otfiee to complete calls to customers still served by switch- language. Principally used at first as a signaling system for outward
board operators. Two methods ~vere devised to accomplish this. In the ea!ls to the No. 4 toll switching system originating at DSA and CLP~
call announcer scheme the address digits were transformed in the boards, and for inward ea!l completion between manuM and No. 4 toll
chine office to spoken digits, which were then transmitted to the ter- switching systems and loea! crossbar offices, it was rapidly extended
minating switchboard operator. Another method caused the digital reg- to permit distant toll operators to key-pulse calls also to the No.
istrations to be transmitted to the terminating switchboard and there system.
displayed as illuminated digits. The display method was called call in- Multifrequeney pulsing systems traBsmit each digit, of an address
. dicator. with a single ~c spurt. Eaeli digit is composed of a unique combination
The ea!l announcer method, utilizing a photoelectric digit-to-voice of two out of a possible five frequencies in the voice baBd. In addition to
encoding machine, was quite ingenious but had limited application and the fundamental advantage of making it possible to signal over any voice
is now praetiea!ly nonexistent. It will therefore not be discussed fur- channel, MF pulsing provides the advantage of being adaptable to oper-
ther. ator key pulsing and high speed interoffice signa!ing. Through the
The call indicator method of signaling between dial and manual of- sign of its code, the received signals can be checked for parity and
flees was applied both to the step-by-step systems and to the panel rejected if more or less than two frequencies are received for each
system. In the step-by-step system the signaling was done with eon- digit.
ventiona! dia!-pulse trains which were decoded and displayed at the Multifrequeney pulsing is now standard for iBtertoll trunks between
switchboard. Since this involved no new signaling techniques, it is of common control switching systems and for exchange trm~ks between
no further interest in this discussion. However, in the panel system the No. 5 common control switching systems. Systems arranged to use
signaling is of interest, since it was accomplished by a new multistate incoming aBd outgoing multifrequeney pulsing presently include the
code. (The system is described in detail in Section V.) The panel call crossbar tandem system, the No. 5 crossbar system, and the No. 4 type
1396 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1397
toll system. The No. 1 crossbar system is arranged for completion of 4.6 Effect of Special Signal Requirements on Signaling Systems
terminating calls from offices equipped to send multifrequency pulsing.
The reader will note that these effects might have been considered
The older systems such as panel and step-by-step still depend upon
in preceding sections. In electing to discuss them separately, we hope
their original methods of pulsing except that both panel and No. 1
that there will perhaps be a little gain in clarity.
crossbar systems are now capable of seven- and ten-digit multifrequency
For the purpose of this discussion "special signal requirements" are
pulsing to tandem switching systems arranged for centralized AMA.
considered to include such signaling functions as are not directly per-
Multifrequency signaling, as indicated above, has had a considerable. formed in conveying the basic information involved in trunk control,
impact on the signaling arrangements used for switching systems. Its
far-end status and called telephone address. Some special signals pres-
use is continuing to grow and new applications continue to be found.
ently in use which are of interest are:
Systems based on the multifrequency pulsing objectives are now being
(a) originating end re-ring (ring forward);
considered for customer-to-central-office pushbutton signaling. In this
(b) auxiliary charge functions;
connection, the use of a different coding system is being considered, but
loss of compatibility may not be objectionable since, as noted earlier, (c) interoffice coin (box) control;
(d) calling party identification.
the central office serves as a buffer between customer signaling sys-
Of these, only the first directly affects the basic interoffice systems
tems and interoffice signaling systems.
used for control and status. The remaining categories are conveyed by
separate signaling systems which require only that they be mutually
4.5 Other Switching System Effects on Signaling noninterfering.
Returning now to the general matter of switching systems effects on
signaling, we observe at least one other broad effect which is worth 4.6.1 The Re-ring Function
dwelling upon, i.e., one-way versus two-way operation of interoffice trunk
circuits. This is required only ~vhen an originating operator desires to attract
From the standpoint of traffic, it has been found satisfactory to op- the attention of a terminating operator after a connection has been
erate with one-way trunk groups in exchange switching. In this method established. It will be noted that, this is never required on a direct
of operation, traffic always originates in the same direction over a trunk customer-dialed call, either exchange or toll. And it is required on an
group. Trunk and signal circuits designed for one-way operation tend operator dialed call only when the call cannot be directly dialed to
to be simpler than for two-way operation since they can be designed the called customer. In this case an "inward operator" is called in
to fit only the signaling requirements that are unique to each end of at the terminating end to handle the call. The re-ring signal is a carry-
the circuit. over from manual ringdown practice, and will probably disappear when
Two-way operation has been the usual practice for long-haul or toll- full DDD is in effect.*
type circuits in order that these costlier circuits can be used more The re-ring heritage goes back to the time when it was conveyed by
efficiently. In practice, the additional signaling and trunk-switching com- a ringing signal which was the same whether used for connect, discon-
plexity has been absorbed in the trunk equipment at each termina!, nect or re-ring. In carrying this function over to automatic signaling
and the signaling arrangements have been kept simple by designing systems, it was integrated with the two-state systems which, it has
them for symmetrical operation at each terminal. With symmetrical been observed, are otherwise satisfactory for interoffice control and sta-
operation, each of the input-output functions is applied, conveyed and tus requirements. This was accomplished by making use of time to
delivered in an identical manner for each direction of operation. Since derive a third state. Thus, to the basic connect and disconnect states,
for the longer circuits the control and status functions are always con- a third re-ring state, consisting of a short pulse of the disconnect state,
veyed over a derived signal link, such as CX or SF, and since these was added. The effect of this is that signaling and switching systems
signaling functions have been reduced to two-state conditions in either must be designed with a proper regard for time, the signal system
direction it has been possible to design the signal links for symmetry * The re-ring function will be re{ained, however, for special operating assistance
without penalty. on dialed international calls, as discussed in Section VI.
1398 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1399
being required to accurately sense and convey re-ring impulses, and discussion in illustrating the basic utility and versatility of the multi-
the switching system being required to distinguish between short re- frequency method of signaling. The primary impact of both of these
ring pulses and long disconnect signals. Obviously this requires close systems on the interoffice signalh~g system is that they require careful
coordination between signaling system and switching system design, and coordination therewith. It is obvious that this is a fundamental rule
it has been the basis of some interesting technical problems during that must, be observed in considering the application of any new sig-
the introductory coordination of new signaling systems with old switch- nal or signaling system to the telephone plant.
ing systems.
4.7 Transmission Media
4.6.2 Remaining Special Signals
The influence of the transmission media on the development of sig-
We shall discuss these only briefly. Signals for charging purposes nor- naling systems has been at least as significant as that exerted by the
mally are conveyed by the called party answer and disconnect signals. switching considerations just discussed. The most significant impact, of
These are interpreted in the originating switching office and result in course, is in the transition from simple metallic voice circuits, served by
the operation of registers or in records being made that correspond to nc signaling, to repeatered or carrier-type facilities requiring AC signal
the time of answer and disconnect on automatic message accounting transmission.
tape. The primary effect on signaling systems of these charging systems The De signaling design problem has been somewhat similar to that
is to make it, quite essential that an answer signal be properly dis- encountered in the design of DC telegraph facilities. Signaling arrange-
tinguished from a flashing signal, and this is done by appropriate ments using both neutral and polar transmission have been employed
timing in the trunk equipment at the originating switching offaee. in the design of trunk circuits operating over metallic facilities, with the
There exists in a few of the large metropolitan areas a system known choice being based on range requirements and economy. Where distances
as "remote control zone registration." In this, common equipment at between central offices indicated the need for a higher degree of sophisti-
a tandem switching point, is used to generate a charge signal, depend- cation, other telegraph techniques were introduced in the form of sim-
ing on the destination of the call and the elapsed time of conversation. plexed and eomposited signaling arrangements.
This information, consisting of a measured number of pulses, is trans- As dialing distances increased and the transmission path required the
mitted from the tandem office back to the originating office where the use of voice-frequency repeaters or carrier systems, it, became necessary
customer’s message register is operated. It, is essential, of course, that to either transmit the signaling information over paralleling PC telegraph
this method be impervious to signal imitation by other signaling or facilities or by AC signals over the same path used for voice. The extensive
switching functions. Hence, as applied in nc exchange signaling systems, use of carrier systems, in particular, dictated that :tc signaling be em-
the remote control signals consist of relatively high voltage pulses which ployed.
are not readily imitated. Signaling systems using low frequencies, such as those used for early
ringdown signaling systems, cannot be applied on circuits with corn-
4.6.3 Other Applications posited telegraph. Also, low-frequency signaling systems are relatively
Some additional applications of the multifrequency system recently slow in operation, due to lack of sensitivity and the need to protect the
coming into use relate to the third and fourth categories of special circuits from speech imitated signals. Even the 1000-cycle ringdown
signals noted above. In case (c), signal pulses similar to the digits in signaling arrangements, using 20 cycles as a modulating frequency, are
the multifrequency code are used to send "coin collect" or "coin re- too slow to be used for dial pulsing. Accordingly, AC signaling systems
turn" signals from a master office to a satellite office not equipped for dial operation required a new approach. In considering such systems
with local coin supervisory equipment. In ease (d), the identity of a the question is encountered whether to use frequencies within or outside
line originating a call is transmitted using the multifrequency code from of the voice band. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the al-
an originating switching office to an office equipped with centralized ternative schemes are reviewed below.
AMA recording equipment. These systems are chiefly of interest in this The obvious advantages of out-of-band signaling are, of course, free-
1400 THE :BELL SYSTEM TECItNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960
SIGNALING SYSTEMS ]401
dora from the effects of speech currents, compandors and echo suppres- be of sufficient level to provide satisfactory operation of the receiver in
sors. In general, out-of-band signaling also allows relatively simple term-
the face of the usual types of noise present on telephone trunks.
inal equipment and has the additional advantage of permitting signaling
The earliest in-band signaling system utilized a frequency of 1600
to take place during the talking interval. The necessity of providing addi-
cycles. This frequency was dictated by the use of "emergency bank"
tional bandwidth, filters to provide the signaling slot, and the possibility carrier channels which were used during World War II to provide addi-
of switching to a trunk over which it is possible to signal but impossible tional circuits. Trunks which included such filters had an upper frequency
to talk due to a trouble in the separate speech path, are disadvantages. cutoff of about 1750 cycles, and hence a signaling frequency of 1600
In-band signaling systems have the advantage of not, requiring addi- cycles was selected. With the close of the war and the removal of the
tional bandwidth. In addition, since the signaling currents utilize the emergency equipment it was possible to raise the signaling frequency to
same path as the speech currents, the amplification provided by voice 2600 cycles. At this higher frequency the problem of protection against
amplifiers also renews the strength of the signaling currents. With in-
speech operation was made considerably easier and permitted the use
band signaling it, is possible to quicMy substitute another voice channel of smaller components as well as less complex circuitry. Present standard
in case of trouble, since the signaling is carried along with the speech voice-frequency signaling systems employ tones of 1600 to 2600 cycles
circuit. and use all frequencies, except the signaling frequency, to guard against
In-band signaling systems are advantageous when telephone facilities
false operation of the signaling receiver on speech currents.
within a trunk are connected in tandem. Under these conditions signal- Other AC signaling systems such as the multifrequency pulsing system
ing equipment need only be furnished at the terminals of the trunk and must also be designed with the transmission media in mind. Falling in
not at the intermediate point ~vithin the trunk. This is economically the band between 700 and 1700 cycles, they are just within the band-
significant in the Bell System toll plant, where an average of 1.4 trans- width provided by the emergency facilities and well within the voice
mission links comprise g trunk. In addition to the economic advantage,
band of standard voice circuits.
there is no additional signal distortion introduced through equipment at. The most recent extension of AC signaling has been in connection with
intermediate points. the exchange plant. With the continued trunk growth and increasing
In-band signaling systems tend to be more complex because of the
costs of voice-frequency cable facilities, the use of short-hau:l carrier sys-
need for protection against speech-generated signals, but the Bell System
tems appeared to offer economic advantages in the exchange plant over
type of in-band signaling provides protection adequately and economi- physical facilities. With the development of short-haul carrier systems
cally by signal-to-guard arrangements in the signaling receiver. The arose the need for inexpensive signaling arrangements to handle the in-
guard uses the energy present in the frequency spectra outside of that teroffice trunk signals.
assigned to the signaling frequency itself. Such guard energy, when com- Initially, two-state out-of-band signaling was employed using a sig-
bined with the energy present at the signaling frequency, determines haling slot outside but adjacent to the voice band, and a system using
whether the receiver is to operate or not,. The ratio of signal-to-guard 3700 cycles was designed for types N, O and ON carrier systems. While
voltages can be adjusted at the time of design of the receiver, and this, the signaling devices for this system were less expensive than in-band
together with timing, provides protection against speech operation. signal ch’cuits, the system lacked the in-band advantages discussed
In choosing the frequency to be used for supervisory signaling it is earlier; also, the loss of ch’cuit patching flexibility limited their useful-
desirable to select, as high a frequency as possible in order to reduce the ness somewhat. For these reasons, and in anticipation of the large-
occurrence of speech-imitated signals, since speech energies at the higher scale use of carrier in exchange areas, new transistorized in-band signal-
frequencies are, of course, a good deal less than those present in the lower ing arrangments were designed. The new in-band systems not only
ranges. In addition, it is desirable to select a frequency that will not accommodated the two-state signaling required for control, status and
interfere or be interfered with by signaling systems using other tones dial pulse address signals, but also were adequate for the three-state
which may be present at the same time such as multifrequency pulsing revertive pulsing s!gnals required by panel and some crossbar offices.
arrangements. The power level of the signaling frequency should also be In addition, the new designs were adapted to operation with a variety
low enough to avoid ovefloading the intermediate amplifiers, but it must of switching system trunk circuits.
1402 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1403
Compatibility obtained by compositing the voice circuits. These signal links (CX) pre-
sented the opportunity for providing signaling compatibility. Thus re-
During the evolution of the Bell System plant it has been almost axio- sulted the standardization of input and output signals at, the terminals
matic that new systems should work with existing systems. This follows of derived signal fin -ks. Output and input signs.ling leads, called some-
from the fact that it is difficult to justify economically the abandonment what arbitrarily E and M leads respectively, became standard termina-
of existing plant in favor of permitting a new system to function in an tions for CX signaling circuits and provided the capability of always
environment all its own. Thus arises a problem in compatibility. delivering and accepting uniform signal conditions. This input-output
Prior to the widespread application of dial systems the compatibility standardization permitted CX signal links to be connected to corre-
problem was not severe, since intersystem signaling requirements for sponding E and M lead trunk circuits of any system. These standard
ringdown operation were relatively simple and dial system isolation was terminations were tarried over to the signal links later developed for
possible to a considerable degree. However, as the total number of dial use over nonmetallic facilities such as the various single-frequency sig-
central offiees increased and, as the varieties increased, the compatibility naling systems and out-of-band signaling systems.
problem became more important, particularly where direct dialing ex- As noted previously, the use of senders in common control offices has
change areas were increased in size and scope. Finally, the introduction led to the use of a number of signaling languages for the address func-
of nationwide dialing concepts caused the compatibility problem to be- tion -- revertive, PCI and multifrequeney. In order for systems to com-
come fail blown. municate with each other they have been equipped in varying degrees
Where the evolutionary developments in switching systems required with registers and senders to accept these signaling languages. Table I
that these systems communicate with each other, it was necessary to shows the extent to which modern switching systems are able to address
accomplish this over transmission facilities which also were undergoing each other using the signaling languages. It will be noted that some sys-
evolutionary changes. It, is obvious therefore that systems used for in- tems have the ability to communicate in several ways with a particular
tersystem signaling have been fated with a sizable compatibility prob- connected system. The selection of a particular method is left to engineer-
lem. In the solution to this problem it has been necessary also to make ing choice, taking into account the total interconnecting requirements of
sure that, signaling systems were properly coordinated with each other the exchange or toll office under consideration.
in order to avoid interference. Finally, the solution to the compatibility The Bell System philosophy of repeating signaling information at,
problem has required that the design of signaling systems adequately each switching point has assisted in obtaining compatibility between
provide for flexible plant administration methods. various signaling systems, since at each mvitehing point it is possible
Up to about, the beginning of the last decade, dial switehing systems to convert the input, control, status and address information to meet
used for exchange service were interconnected over metallic paths and the requirements of the switching point, beyond.
consequently employed nc signaling methods. Since, for operation over The problem of maintaining compatibility with transmission systems
metallic facilities, the "control" and "status" functions are usually com- has involved conversion of interoffice signaling systems from PC to aC
bined with the switching system trunk equipment, and since these equip- methods, where tarrier transmission facilities were substituted for metal-
ments usually contained features unique to the switching system, there lie facilities. With in-band signal system operation, proper eoordinatiou
appeared to be little need for a systematic approach toward providing in the design of transmission and signaling systems has assured that
compatible signal circuits for interchangeable use between different satisfactory signal transmission will occur over any voice transmission
switching systems. Consequently there resulted a large number of trunk system, and the standardization of input and output, signaling leads for
circuit designs, many of which were uniquely tailored to a particular CX, SF and out-of-band signal links has made it possible to flexibly
switching and signaling plan. interconnect switching systems over PC or ~c transmission facilities.
The extensive intereonneetion of different, kinds of dial switching sys- It is of interest, to note the degree to which Ac signaling systems must.,
tems and the requirement for extending signaling ranges occurred at, of themselves, observe the rules of compatibility. Fig. 1 indicates the
about the same time. Initially the extension in signaling ranges was ob- manner in which the voice-frequency spectrum is now utilized for the
tained through the use of telegraph-type derived signal links which were transmission of Ac signals for telephone and other Bell. System services.
1404 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1405
V
Step-by-Step DP DP DP DP DP x x
CI
V
II
Step-by-Step Tandem DP DP DP
CI
DP DP
Local Manual DP DP V
MF MF MF MF I I
3 4 5 6 7 8 404
5 6 7 8 9103 2
DP DP DP DP V V FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND
Dial System A DP DP MF MF MF
MF RP RP RP PCI PCI Fig. 1 -- Various signaling and plant tones.
DP DP MF DP
Manual Toll DP DP MF v V It is obvious that where any two or more of these signals are present at
MF RP RP MF
the same time it is essential that they be mutually nonirtterfering.
DP
Panel Sender Tandem DP DP X X X PCI
RP RP V. MODERN INTEROFFICE SIGNALING SYSTEMS
DP MF DP V
Crossbar Tandem DP DP MF x 5.1 General
MF RP RP RP PCI
Up to this point ~ve have discussed the nature and effect of signaling
MF DP V principles on the evolution of the signaling art. An idea of the methods
No. 4 Toll Crossbar DP DP MF MF
MF RP RP PCI of implementing these principles in practical signaling systems will be
DP MF DP V obtained from the following general descriptions. These are confined to
No. 5 Crossbar DP DP MF MF MF PCI typical systems and are divided broadly into two categories, PC signaling
RP RP
PCI PCI
and AC signaling. In each category the performance of the trunk con-
MF MF MF trol, status and addressing functions will be observed, and also the
Panel x X MF PCI RP RP PCI PCI application in the exchange and intertoll plant.
RP RP RP
MF MF 5.~ DC Systems
No. 1 Crossbar x X MF PCI RP RP PCI PCI
RP RP RP
In the exchange plant where short distances are frequently encoun-
Office Selector Tandem x x x X RP PCI tered DC signaling systems continue to be used extensively. They are
DP = Dial pulsing; RP = Revertive pulsing; MF = Multifrequency pulsing; used also for some short-haul toll systems. The systems are of two gen-
PCI = Panel call indicator; CI = step-by-step call indicator; V = Verbal; X = eral types, the simplest, occurring where a PC loop path is available.
No connection. These are grouped below as loop signaling systems. Where a clear loop
path is not feasible or where extended PC ranges are desired, signal links
SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1407
1406 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL ~IOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960
,L o o G:
OFFICE A OFFICE B
O0 O~ 0a- O0 O~-
-Jo
o
o
oo ~ ~o
o
~ z z
o O O O
........... Q E LEGS
’ ’
~ E ~ ..........
S~G NA’I-
TRANSMITTING
--__ SIGNAL
~I~
RECEIVING
RELAY
’ cx
/ I cx
RELAY -~
second. Fig. 7 shows the basic principles and Fig. 8 shows in greater NETWORK I ~ F -- ~ I NETWORK
detail the signaling arrangements for a single voice channel The circuit
uses one conductor of the pair for transmitting signaling information
and the second conductor for providing compensation for ground poten-
tial differences between the two terminals.
< POTEN%I- OF THE OTHER TWO POTENTi- <
When the trunk conductors of a phantom group are equipped with ¯ I.I ~ OMETER CX RELAYS ASSOCIATED OMETER ~ I.I.
composite sets, four paths are obtained which can be used independently
with a ground return or three paths with one path reserved for ground
potential compensation for the other three paths. Fig. 8 -- Composite signaling circuit for one-voice channel.
5.2.2.3 Duplex (DX) Signaling (Fig. 9). Duplex signaling is based upon
symmetrical and balanced circuit that is identical at both ends. It is 5.2.3 Addressing by DC Methods
patterned after composite signaling but, does not require a eompositc
5.2.3.1 Dial Pulsing. The customer’s dial actuates a cam which gener-
set,. One ~vire of the pair is used for signaling and the other conductor
ates open and close signals, the number of open or "b)’eak" signals being
for ground potential compensation.
equal to the digit, being transmitted. In common control switching sys-
tems dial pulses are generated by relay-type pulse generators.
Fig. 10 shows typical dial signals. Between digits the loop is closed
for a somewhat longer time, which enables the switch in the central
office to recognize the end of a digit.
CENTRAL
Trains of dial pulses are defined in terms of pulse repetition rate and
TRUNK
OFFICE per cent break. (Per cent break is the ratio of the duration of a single
open loop or "break" interval to the sum of the open and closed inter-
vals.) Nominal speed vMues for all types of dials vary from 7.5 to 12
pulses per second; breaks vary from 58 to 67.5 per cent. The latest, dials
vary between 9 and 11 pulses per second and 60 to 6,i per cent break.
Some special operator dials are capable of 20 pulses per second, but, these
are only used with compatible central office equipment.
With loop signaling, dial pulses actuate a reeeivh~g relay, such as the
Fig. 7 -- CX circuit for one end of a trunk pair.
1412 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS
<!
MAKE
BREAK
£
i i
I
I
~l, ~G ~1,1
-m
h f
position is reached.
l;Vhen this is used in crossbar systems, a relay in the terminating office
sender produces a train of revertive pulses upon receipt of a start signal
from the originating office. The pulses are couni, ed in both the originat-
ing and terminating offices. When a stop signal is received from the
originating office, the count in the terminating office is transferred to
I
a register, and the counter is released for use in the next digit.
Revertive pulsing is faster than dial pulsing, but requires signaling
1414 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOTLTRNAL~ NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1415
RESISTANCE ~ II ~ I I / HIEI
the first and third bits of each digit are defined by open and positive
~I Y ~I REGISTER I I MAGNET pulses with the states of the second and fourth bits being defined by
~
F03~ ~ STP~ I FOR PRE- ~ -- , ~-~ _[~ CORK
~ & DETERMINED I I ~II~ F ~LV# ROLL light negative and heavy negative pulses. These variations are shown
u
~-- STEPPING ~
RELAY ~
OF PULSES I I~
I"
Z
""’" in Table II, and the complete code is given in Table III. The alternate
I
negative bits of the code are used to synchronize the receiving with the
Fig. 11 -- Revertive pulsing between panel offices. sending end and to advance the register to successive digits. Four deci-
mal digits, sent consecutively with no pause in between, require a total
circuits capable of operating up to 22 pulses per second from crossbar transmission time of about one second. The signal characteristic as it,
senders and up to 32 pulses per second from panel selectors. . appears on the trunk conductors is shown in Fig. 13. A heavy positive
The signals transmitted over the trunk coDductors are shown in Fig. pulse is transmitted to indicate end of pulsing. This, together with the
12. Revertive signaling requires transmission of three states since, in four states required to define alternate bits of the code, results in a five-
addition to the two states required for the terminal count, a third state state signaling system.
is transmitted after all selections have been pulsed. (This is referred to As shown in Fig. 14, PCI pulses transmitted over the trunk are de-
as "incoming advance" and signifies that the switching equipment can tected by means of polar and marginal relays at the receiving end.
cut the trunk through to the talking paths at each end.) The three states
are transmitted by two polarities and a zero current condition. TABLE III--PCI COD~S
~.2.3.3 Panel Call Indicator Signaling. The PCI code is essentially a Thousands
Hundreds Tens and Units
binary system employing four bits per decimal digit. The two states of Digit
TERMINATING OFFICE A D A B c D
ORIGINATING OFFICE (~) (s) (2) (4) (s) O)
INCOMING 0 n n
STOP
)VANCE 1 P 11
.START 2 n p n
3 n p n
SENT FORWARD’-’~-~
I- SENT BACK
~ REVERTIVE
~ PULSES
4
5
6
7
8
n
N
N
N
--
p
p
N
N
N
N
n
9 n
Fig. 12 -- Revertive pulsing.
1416 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1417
FR M
REGISTERS
-,,.L
~
I
DIGIT
time the channel is used for conversation. Signal receiving equipment,
however, must remain on a channel during conversation to be ready to
respond to incoming signals and it may thus be subject to false operation
REGISTER
from voice sounds which resemble the tones used for signaling. Protec-
tion against voice interference is accomplished in a number of ways:
RELAY CONDITION LINE 1. Signal tones of a character not likely to occur in normal speech
CONDITION
1 2 3 are chosen. In so-called 1000-cycle signaling, the frequency is modulated
+ --
at a 20-eps rate. In multifrequeney systems, several frequencies are
+ + combined and h~dividual receivers set up to respond to each frequency.
-- + 2. Time delay is often used to prevent false operation due to voice.
The signal receiver is made slow to respond so that normal noise and
Fig. 14 -- Basic PCI pulsing system. voice currents which would otherwise actuate the receiver are ignored.
1418 THE BELL SYSTEH TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEHBER 1960
SIGNALING SYSTEMS t419
3. Voice-frequency energy, other than the signaling frequency, is de-
tected and used to inhibit, the operation of the signaling receiver.
First, single-frequency (SF) circuits used 1600 or 2000 cycles for sig-
naling frequencies, while the latest, circuits use 2400 or 2600 cycles. Since
these frequencies are in the voice band they can be passed over the line
facility with the same ease as voice currents.
The SF signaling system is designed to pass the necessary signals for
telephone trunks over voice frequency transmission line facilities without
impairing the normal use of these facilities for speech. This system
eepts and delivers DC signals from the switching trunk equipment. The
DC signals are transformed to ac forms on the line side, and vice versa.
The same frequency is empIoyed in both directions on four-wire line
facilities, since these have separate transmission paths between terminals.
On two-wire facilities, different frequencies are used in the two directions.
One signal frequency is applied or removed at each end of a line facility
to operate or release a relay at. the far end. In this way, two alternate
signal conditions are provided in both directions of transmission. Nor-
mally, speech and signal frequency are not, on the line facility at. the
same time.
The SF signaling circuit is inserted in series with separate transmitting
and receiving branches, that is, the four-wire transmission points at the
terminals of line facilities. The office side of the transmitting branch may
be opened momentarily for critical signaling conditions, but the receiving
branch is provided with continuous, one-way transmission. These fea-
tures protect the signaling circuits from noise and tones originating on
the ogiee sides of each terminal.
Relatively high signal power of short., duration is used for effective
operation in the presence of greater than normal line noise. The guard-
channel principle is employed to avoid false operation by signal fre-
quencies present in speech or music to which the receiver is exposed be- Fig. 15 -- The E2B SF signaling uni~.
cause of continuous association with the line. The guard channel uses
frequencies outside the signal frequency band to oppose the operating the space and using one-third the power of its electron tube predecessors,
effect of the signal frequency. In addition, this system inserts narrow- the transistorized model employs miniaturized components, printed
band elimination networks centered on the signal frequency in the voice wired cards and appropriate solid state circuitry and techniques. Wire-
path to limit the effect of signal prover when this is present on the line. spring relays are used where economics dictated their choice. The wed-
These networks are switched out at, all other times. ding of new and old concepts is proving to be a most happy
Fig. 17 indicates in block diagram form the more important features
In-Band SF Signaling ( Intertol!, Applications) of the SF signaling unit. On the otfiee side, six leads interconnect the
signaling unit and associated trunk relay circuit, the E and M leads for
Fig. 15 is a photograph of the latest transistorized SF signaling unit signaling and the send and receive voice circuits of the signaling unit.
(for intertoll trunks) in the Bell System. For comparison purposes, and the associated four-wire branches of the line facility, generally
Fig. 16 shows the earlier electron tube model. Occupying one-third of carrier telephone system.
1420 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1421
HIGH -LEVEL
I RELAY, HL. I
and alternately removes or applies 2600 cycles to the transmit line of GOIL
R~ RETARDATION
CUTOFF
RELAY, CO
the facility. The M relay operates the high-level relay HL to remove a
12-db pad in order to permit a high level initial signal to secure an CIRCUIT OR TO 4-- WIRE
TO 4-- WIRE TRANSMITTER
improved "signal-to-noise" operating environment. The HL relay is slow TERMINATING
BRANCHES
OF LINE
2 - WIRE
to release and hence dial pulses, which operate the ~I relay, are trans- 2-WIRE TRUNK LINE NETWORK FACILITIES
RELAY CIRCUIT
mitted at an augmented level. In addition a cutoff relay, co, operates
to short-circuit any noise which may be present from the office side of
the circuit. A bridged retardation coil with center-point grotmded is also
\+7DB
provided to drain off longitudinal currents that may arise in the office TRANSMISSION
LEVEL
equipment and possibly interfere ~4th signaling. The M lead will accept LEA°
and the SF unit will transmit dial pulses at speeds from 8 to 12 pulses i ~=u~ ,~- ~oL~ I_.~._~._~_~._~._~>...~ R E M ,VE
per second with per cent breaks ranging from 46 to 76 per cent. RELAY, RRECEIVING
The receiving portions of the SF unit include a voice amplifier, ap-
propriate band elimination networks, and a signal detection circuit. The
voice amplifier’s primary function is to block any noise or speech present DC
AMPL~F~Ea ~ AMPLIFIER
in the office equipment from interfering ~vith the operation of the signal I PULSE I I F~aa ~?~07~1 ~LOW-~ASS
detector and also to make up for the insertion loss of the SF unit in the ~EcT~
receive speech path. Fig. 17 -- Basic elements of SF signaling circuit.
1422 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL~ NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1423
To understand the signaling unit operation, assume that a trunk 5.3.3 Out-of-Band SF Signaling (Intertoll and Ezchange Applications)
equipped ~vith 2600-cycle SF units is in the idle condition. A 2600-cycle
tone (-20 dbm referred to the zero transmission level point, 0 db TL) Certain carrier systems include built-in signaling equipment (Types
is present in both directions of transmission. N, O, and ON) using a separate frequency slot outside of but adjacent
A seizure signal origflaating at one terminal results in a change in to the voice band. In the Bell System a frequency of 3700 cycles is used
state on the originating M lead from ground to battery. As a result, the for such signaling systems. Fig. 18 outlines the basic features.
keyer relay M operates and removes 2600-cycle tone from the sending During the trunk-idle condition the 3700-cycle frequency is present
line. The loss of tone is detected at the distant SF signaling unit and the in both directions of transmission and trunk control and status signals
resulting action changes the E lead from an open to a ground condition. are transmitted by interrupting the tone in similar fashion to that al-
The grounded E lead results ha a request for connection of an incoming ready described for in-band SF systems. Since the signaling path is
register or sender. Since there may be a slight delay in securing a regis- outside of the voice band .no provision is required for protection against
ter, the trunk circuit changes the M lead state at the terminating office voice operation. In addition, compandors are not affected by the tone,
from ground to battery, resulth~g in the removal of 2600-cycle tone from and signaling, if required, cmi take place during the talking condition.
the line facility, from the terminating to the originating office. This The out-of-band system in use at the present time provides only for
results in a signal on the originating office E lead to delay the transmis- E and M connections to associated trunk circuits. Circuits have been
sion of the address information.
~’Vhen an incoming register is connected, the terminating trunk circuit
~~ \ ITRANSMITTING
restores ground to the M lead of the SF unit, and 2600-cycle tone is
reapplied to the line. At the originating terminal the reapplied tone is
detected and the resulting E lead signal indicates that pulsing of the II "’ TUnabLE
address information can begin.
If dial pulsing is used for addressing, the m’ keyer relay is operated
and released in accordance with the dial pulses being transmitted. This
results in pulses of 2600-cycle tone, one for each dial pulse, at an aug-
merited level. Interdigital intervals of 0.6 second are inserted between PULSE
dial pulse trains when transmission is from an outgoing sender.
At the end of pulsing, 2600-cycle tone is removed from the line in
the forward direction but tone is still being received from the distant
terminal. When the called customer answers, the action of lifting his I ~A~UUR J
~I
receiver results in a signal from the terminal trunk circuit to the SF
unit, and tone is removed in the backward direction. For the talking CURRENT AND
interval there are then no tones present in either direction and no band- ,
restricting components present. *~PL,-
FIER
~ NET~O~*
On calls for which no charges are made, such as business office,
repair or service calls, the tone in the backward direction is not removed,
but a band-elimination filter prevents the tone from reaching the calling ~
customer. The transmission path has, of course, been slightly degraded
by the introduction of the filter but this is not considered serious on this
type of call. On transmission systems equipped with compandors the S,AS
presence of the backward-going tone may reduce the compandor cross-
talk and noise advantage. Fig. 18 -- N-1 carrier signaling system (out-of-band).
1424 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1425
signaling units makes it possible to adapt loop signaling trunks to short. I RELAY’C2 I I CIA~ CIB I
-16 DE]
haul carrier systems. The SF units provide loop-signaling-reverse-bat- TRANSMISSION
LEVEL
tery supervision toward central office switching equipment and in-band
AC signaling toward the line. These units also include the four-wire
terminating sets required for. converting between the four-wire line
facility and the two-wire loop. The terminating sets are suitable from a
transmission standpoint for exchange, tandem and toll-connecting
/
OFFICE
CIRCUIT
R VOICE
4-WIRE
TERMINATING
CIRCU,T
T VOICE
TRANSMITTER
RECEIVER
4
TO
LINE
FACILITY
trunks.
Since revertivc pulsing, as indicated earlier, is a three-state signaling
system, a brief description of its adaptation toAc signaling will be of
~
vdc 2000 I "
SIGNAL ] ~
ELIMINATION ~’~ TR/
NETWORKl
~FOF
+7 D8
interest. Such trunks are one-way circuits and hence the functions of SIGN
SIGNAL I I TRANSMISSION
LEVEL
the revertive signaling units at the two terminals differ. An over-all REVERTIVE ~--~ _.. --~
PULSING I
trunk layout is shown in block diagram form in Fig. 19. Figs. 20 and 21
detail the major functions included in the signaling units at the origi-
I
nating and terminating ends of the trunk.
The originating terminal includes two receiving circuits: one a 2600- ~’-
........
cycle receiver, to detect trunk status signals, the other a 2000-cycle I CONT OL~ RECEyI_N_G ~~RS~ SIGNAL- GUARD
~ AMPLIFIER
LIMITER
LOW-PASS
receiver, to detect the revertive pulses. At, the terminating end of the
trunk only a 2600-cycle receiver is required to detect trunk control
signals but two transmitters are provided. The revertive pulses are
~
"TO
T_._ INCOMING transmitted by keying a 2000-cycle oscillator, while the trunk status
FRAME~ ~ 22~ I ~ I~ " ~ml ~IF
OR SF signals key a 2600-cycle oscillator.
RL.~SELECTOR
OR
CIRCUIT TI] T CIRCUIT -i TRUNK
CIRCUIT
The bandwidth of the 2000-cycle channel for the revertive pulses is
quite wide in order to accomodate the high-speed signals. As indicated
earlier, pulsing speeds up to 32 pulses per second are used. Because of
the wider bandwidth, care must be exercised to prevent extraneous
ITRANS~SSION
~ L~ELS
bb- ~b
~ ~ circuit transients from appearing as legitimate pulses. Another require-
ITE: NG I ’ ment for revertive pulsing circuits is the need for ~ast round-trip trans-
mission times. Since the revertive pulses are generated at, the terminat-
Fig. 19 -- Circuit layout using SF signaling unit for revertive pulsing.
ing end of the trunk and are detected and counted at, the originating
1426 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1.427
2600 "U The pulses are sent over the regular talking channels and, since they
:’600 ’%,
TONE
SUPPLY
~ DIODE
KEYER
are in the voice range, are transmitted as readily as speech. There are
fifteen pairs of frequencies possible from the group of six; ten of them
for the digits 0 to 9, inclusive, and one each for signals indicating the
beginning mad end of pulsing. The remaining three possible pairs are
CLOSE-THRU
available for special requirements.
The multifrequeney system is arranged so that,, if more than two
i 2ooo~ i frequencies are detected by the receiving equipment, a reorder signal is
! SUPPLY ret, umed.
The multifrequency pulsing system consists of:
l TRANSM,SSION
--
2000
SIGNAL
(a) signaling current supply units and distribution arrangements with
i suitable protection and alarm features;
TO T vo,cE (b) signal transmitters, either manual multifrequeney keysets or dial
~’1 system multifrequency out.pulsing senders;
TO
4-WIRE
II -
~T TERMINA~N(
4 -Wl .R.~E.
--
TRANSMITTER
-- --- LINE (c) signal receiver connected to the incoming sender or register.
RECEIVER ’
CIRCU[’[ FACILITY One arrangement of the system components for pulsing on a trunk
~ I1 -rl ~ VOICE { INPUT between manual and dial system offices is shown in Fig. 22. A local
manual or dial system or toll switchboard equipped with muMfrequeney
I I VOICE 2600 ~1 +TDB key pulsing is shown connected by a direct trunk arranged for multi-
TRANSMISSION
~V~ frequency pulsing to a crossbar office equipped with incoming multi-
frequency pulsing senders.
The first, signal transmitted by the operator is a gate opening signal
call a KP signal. Receipt, of the KP signal at the distant end prepares
I ~ RECEIVING I ~ ~ .... ~RECTIFIERS[ GU, ~D I
the multifrequeney receiver to accept the digits thai; are to follow. The
operator begins sending the address digits by pressing one button for
each digit,. Following the last digit, she presses the ST button to indicate
Fig. 21 -- Basic elements of SF signaling unit -- terminating terminal revertive the end of pulsing. In addition to informing the distant sender that no
pulsing. more pulsing signals are coming, the operation of the ST key disconnects
terminal, a signal to stop the panel office elevator at the terminating TABLE IV FREQUENCIES AND DIGIT CODES FOR h~F PULSING
end must be transmitted as soon as the counting circuit at the originat-
Digit Code Frequencies
ing end is satisfied.
1 0 ÷1 700 ÷ 900
5.3.5 Multifrequency Pulsing (MF) 2 0 + 2 700 -5 1100
3 1 + 2 900 ÷ 1100
Multifrequency pulsh~g accomplishes the address function with AC 4 0 + 4 700 + 1300
signals, in both the toll and exchange plant. This system transmits 5 1 + 4 900 + 1300
6 2 + 4 1100 + t300
digits by combinations of two, and only two, of five frequencies. Addi- 7 0 + 7 700 + 1500
tional signals are provided by combinations using a sixth frequency. 8 1 + 7 900 ÷ 1500
9 2 + 7 1100 -t- 1500
Table IV shows the multifrequeney codes. The six frequencies are spaced 0 4 + 7 1300 ÷ 1500
200 cycles apart, from 700 to 1700 cycles inclusive. Each combination of KP 2 + i0 1100 ÷ 1700
ST 7 + I0 1500 ÷ 1700
two frequencies represents a pulse, and each pulse represents a digit.
RECEIVING CHANNEL CIRCUITS
1428 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 1960 INCOMING
TRUNK \
DETEC- THYRA-
SWITCHBOARD CROSSBAR DIAL OFFICE FILTERS TORS TRONS RELAYS
LOCAL ~ DSA ~ OR TOLL LOCAL ~ TANDEM ~ OR TOLL INPUT CIRCUIT
I I \
/ \ / CROSSBAR
F~ SWITCHES LINE OR
LINE OR F] F~ F] ~’
TRUNK LI-I CORD I _11 I /~t’,/LT--~--U--"~----~CO~’,~G~’RUNK
I
[ VOLLME ~ INCOM-
L,M,T,NG I~-~
~ I ~ i SENDER
UNLOCKINGL~
~ SIGNAL
I ANDMF /~ .... ~ L /1~1 t I I ........ I VARIABLE /
~Jl~ PRESENT CIRCUIT
I PULSING ~ ~ ~ I~ I I SENDER ~
I MONITORING ] (0 ) [" ’)I[~PJ[ ~ TEST SET I-z/ BIAS
l SET ] .~ ~ ~ J~ L ]
MF KEYSET F~XED II I PRESENT ~ POTENTI-~’~ PRE,
B~AS
CIRCUIT
Fig. 22 -- Plan of MF pulsing system.
transmission of the next digit can start. Digit acknowledgment signals send" signal returned to London. The outgoing register in London now
are not used in the Bell System. transmits a language digit and the national number of the called custo-
3. Number-received signal is a signal to indicate reception of the com- mer, followed by an "end-of-pulsing" signal. Each digit transmitted from
plete address. This signal is not required in the Bell System. London to Rome is acknowledged by transmission of a signal from Rome
4. Release-guard signal is transmitted to the originating terminal to to London and, when the complete address has been received, the Rome
indicate that the clear-forward (disconnect) signal has been fully effec- register returns a "mtmber-received" signal to the London operator.
tive at the incoming end. It serves to protect the circuit from reseizure The outgoing register in London is dismissed and the speech path closed
before the circuit has been completely disconnected. In the Bell System through after the "end-of-pulsing" signal is transmitted.
this protection is provided by timing arrangements at each terminal At the end of the call the connections are released at each switching
and no special signal is required. center by disconnect and release guard signals transmitted in turn from
Rome to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Paris, and finally Paris to London.
6.1.4 Operator Selection Signals The type of signaling described above is often referred to as "end-to-
end" signaling. In contrast to this method the Bell System employs
Assistance operators handling European international telephone calls "point-to-point" signaling. In the latter M1 of the information concern-
are designated as "Code 11" or "Code 12" operators. These operators ing a call is transmitted from the originating point to the succeeding
are called in by transmission of distinctive signals and they perform the switching center, following which the sender at. the originating point is
following services. A "Code 11" operator is an assistance operator who dismissed to handle other calls. Signals are not transmitted between
performs the usual functions of an incoming operator in manual service. intertoll switching centers to acknowledge reception of the address in-
A "Code 12" operator is a delayed-ticketing or suspended-call operator. formation. Where calls require switching through several centers the
When a particular "Code 12" operator is desired a call number is added address information includes an area code directing the call to the proper
and follows the "Code 12" signal. destination and when the final trunk is selected the area code information
is dropped and only the customer’s local address transmitted.
6.i.5 Typical Call Point-to-point signaling results in reduced holding time for originating
To illustrate the use of these signals assume a call miginated at London office senders, permits the use of different signaling and pulsing systems
for Rome via Paris and Frankfurt,. The initial seizure signal will be on each of the trm]ks comprising the complete connection (hence in-
transmitted from the outgoing register in London to the incoming circuit creased flexibility), and provides a transmission advantage since the
in Paris as a "transit seize" signal. This signal will cause a "transit" signals are regenerated at each switching point. Hence, signaling arrange-
register to be attached at Paris. When the register is ready to receive ments for each trunk need only operate in the environment of that trunk
information a "transit-proceed-to-send" signal is returned to London. and not that established for the entire connectiom Finally, from an
London will then transmit the country code digits representing the equipment viewpoint it is not necessary to provide two types of incom-
country of destination. The reception of this information at Paris will ing registers for the handling of either transit or terminal traffic.
cause the register to return an acl~owledgment of the digits to London
and select a circuit to Frankfurt. A "transit-seize" signal is now trans- 6.~ One-Way Versus Two-Way Operation of Trun]cs
mitted by the Paris register to the Frankfurt terminal, and the speech
path is closed through and the Paris register is dismissed. As discussed in Section 4.5, Bell System long-haul intertoll trunks are
The Frankfurt register, when connected, will return a "transit-pro- generally operated on a two-way basis with exchange trm~ks being oper-
ceed-to-send" signal to London, and London again transmits the country ated one way. In the United Kingdom and Europe one-way operation
code digits. The Frankfurt register acknowledges reception of the coun- of trunks is the usual ease. Two-way systems require symmetrical signal-
try code, selects a route to Rome, transmits a "terminal-seize" signal to ing. terminals. The additional costs for symmetrical two-way operation
Rome, closes through the speech path and releases. as compared with unsymmetrical one-way operation are sraall for con-
At Rome a terminal register is connected and a "t.erminat-proceed-to- tinuous-type signaling plans, but can be relatively expensive for spurt.-
1434 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL J’OURNAL~ NOVEMBER 1960 SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1435
From the foregoing survey of the events and effects leading to the
present state of the signaling art, it will be apparent that the signaling
background has been deeply interrelated with the evolution of the tele-
phone plant as a whole. Looking toward the future, one might logically
conclude that signaling systems will continue to be closely allied with
progress in the switching and transmission fields. Advances in the elec-
tronic component field and in related arts will undoubtedly contribute
substantially to the technology of signaling, but future system trends
will be tempered by the economic strains which inevitably occur in
fitting tomorrow’s plans to today’s plant.
The foreseeable .future, as indicated by trends already established,
will bring more and more fully customer-controlled traffic -- within the
exchange plant as well as within the DDD network -- and less operator-
directed traffic. While this probably will not cause changes in signaling
design requirements per se, other than to diminish the need for signals
required only by operators, it will place more and more dependence on
the reliability of signaling systems. Thus, one might expect a continued
acceleration in the use of self-checking multifrequeney signaling where
a choice of engineering alternatives exists between this and other forms
of signaling. By the same token, one might expect a lessening in the
use of interoffice dial pulsing, either through gradual obsolescence of
step-by-step central offices or through some form of senderization. There
will probably be a decline in the use of PCI signaling as local manual
switchboards disappear and as local office DDD sender modifications
supersede, with MF signaling, the use of PCI signals to tandem offices.
Further, as panel switching offices are replaced by more modern switch-
ing systems, there will be a corresponding reduction in the use of re-
1440
SIGNALING SYSTEMS 1443
1442 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JouRNAL, NOVEMBER 1960